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I’m well aware that many businesses, especially restaurants, are still struggling in this economy. I try to be fair with the tips we give (15-20%), unless we get terrible service. But lately I’ve become annoyed at the stupid decisions that some restaurants are making—stupid, because they alienate their customers. I know, too, that they are trying to keep prices down, and we have tried to be understanding when we see them going up. The cost of everything seems to be on an upward trajectory.
The two most recent incidents were not far from home. The first was a visit to a new Ford’s that had opened up nearby. We’d been to two other facilities of theirs and enjoyed their hamburgers. But when we walked in the door, we were told up front, before we were even seated, that there would be a 15% surcharge. I didn’t even ask if that would go to the server. We turned around and walked out.
Ridiculous.
Last night, however, we went to a restaurant here in our development. I have to admit I was a tad bit annoyed that we didn’t get our drinks until most of the way through our meals, but that wasn’t my issue. Stuff happens. But when my husband checked over the tab, there was a “Convenience Charge” of 3%. Excuse me? We asked the waiter to explain, and he said that was the charge for using a credit card. Seriously? He quietly told us that we could buy a gift card and charge it for our meals, but we’d still need to make the tip in cash. By the way, the 3% charge this time was only $1.47.
Good grief. We have gone to this restaurant periodically for almost 20 years. The food is decent and the site is only five minutes away. I understand that the restaurant has to pay a fee to the credit card companies. But we live in a 55+ community, many of them from New York (sorry if that insults you) and when they see that charge, they are going to have a fit. I didn’t take my annoyance out on the waiter—he’s just doing his job. But a convenience fee?
Give me a break.
Discussion (79)
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The 15% surcharge is something we see around here for large (6+) parties and makes a certain amount of sense in terms of efficiency. That doesn't make it any less annoying.
The "convenience" fee is the restaurant passing on the cost of doing business via credit card. The restaurant itself has been paying that for every credit card transaction all along. The restaurant in question is probably not doing terribly well financially.
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I don't think it's necessarily for efficiency. I have noticed over the years, that when some people are in a larger group, they tip cheaply. Maybe they think they have cover, won't be noticed by others, and maybe not remembered by the server as the cheap one. These are just guesses, but it is behavior that I have seen.
And, of course, handling larger parties is quite a bit more work for the servers.
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For the record, we expect the surcharge for large parties (which we were not).
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Dropping that charge on everybody is not a smart move.
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There are many small businesses that have been passing on the fee charged by the credit card companies. Our favorite bagel place started with a sign that asked people to use cash, and now (after two years) posts two different prices for items. Some customers pay cash, some use a card. The difference in price is mere pennies. My horse barn/trainer accepts credit cards, or you pay by check/ACH withdrawal and avoid the credit card fee charged by quickbooks. I have no problem supporting small businesses in this way. I also enjoy using cash as a way of keeping a bit of privacy in my life; I clearly recall de-banking for wrongthink that happened in Canada.
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